Re: RANT:My Love and Hate of German cars.

I was surprised how much better (real) leather breaths with regard to auto seats, can`t stand leather household/office furniture because other materials either breath better (fabrics) or don`t heat up as much (wood) but/so I guess it`s all relative.

Dan- At 9yo that Tex isn`t even close to broken-in yet IMO.

And yeah on the sharp edges...every time I wash the A8, every single time since 2000, I end up cutting myself. That car gets me every time, almost always something under the hood where most people wouldn`t put their fingers anyhow, but hey it gets dirty there too.

Re: RANT:My Love and Hate of German cars.

Dan- Glad you found something that`s right for *you*. It`s not always what one would expect and I think it`s great that you didn`t stay locked into a "it`s gotta be [whatever] or I won`t like it" mindset. Also glad the salesman was OK, that must`ve been a pleasant surprise.

And I`m not all that surprised that the Benzes were so ratty..now that people don`t really buy such cars very often (due to leasing) I figure there`s little incentive to take good care of them. And cars like that aren`t built to be trouble-free for ages the way they once were, they`re no longer seen as big lifetime purchases that need to last for generations of users.

Re: RANT:My Love and Hate of German cars.

Originally Posted by Accumulator

Dan- Glad you found something that`s right for *you*. It`s not always what one would expect and I think it`s great that you didn`t stay locked into a "it`s gotta be [whatever] or I won`t like it" mindset. Also glad the salesman was OK, that must`ve been a pleasant surprise.

And I`m not all that surprised that the Benzes were so ratty..now that people don`t really buy such cars very often (due to leasing) I figure there`s little incentive to take good care of them. And cars like that aren`t built to be trouble-free for ages the way they once were, they`re no longer seen as big lifetime purchases that need to last for generations of users.

It was funny, we took out a 2016 E Class, which was in nice shape, they had another 2013. He asked if I had watched some youtube channel, then I asked him if he watched Hoovies Garage, when he said Hoovie was his hero, I knew I could count on him for having driven everything on the lot and to have some good opinions. I told him that I was looking at an S and wanted something big that rode like a cloud. He said a Genesis might be good if I was up for Hyundai or the LS. I`ve always liked the LS so I drove that... and fell in love with it. Have it on hold, hopefully I get a good price for the Volt and we can swap.

I think you are right about leases, almost every single S class I`ve run a carfax on (over two dozen) has had a 1 year lease on it. Almost half those cars came from south Florida too. The last one that made me throw the towel in was a 2010 with....

39k miles
priced at full KBB retail
Peeling paint on front bumper, crappy repaint job
Two big dings on the back bumper (bigger than my hand)
Leaking RR airspring, car was sagging when I got there
Curb rash on 3 of 4 wheels
Interior reeked of cheap cologne
Ratty interior with tons of scratches and stretched out leather
RR quarter was repainted
Service indicator showing service past due by 4900 miles

And this was on the front lot of a big Mercedes dealership!!!

Biggest issue for me what the the condition of the car was inconsistent with mileage. It felt like a car with 100k miles. The VMI report (MB service history) was inconsistent too, last service was 2 years ago at 41k miles and the odometer now shows 39k.

Not even sure why I entertained a price, but they went back and forth a few times and knocked $1500 off.

Re: RANT:My Love and Hate of German cars.

Originally Posted by Bill D

That’s just horrifying shape for a car of that mileage!

Exactly, what is worse, is it was on the front lot of an MB dealer. What the heck were they thinking! Wait I know, a sucker will be along soon, and they`ll buy it. Maintenance only 4900 miles past due, the owner must have been....err.... busy!

Re: RANT:My Love and Hate of German cars.

My dad bought a E class with 30k miles a few years ago and it was no where near how you described. Interior was just fine. It didn’t even need claying after a decon wash. Just shows you how vastly different people can take care of their cars.

Re: RANT:My Love and Hate of German cars.

Originally Posted by Bill D

My dad bought a E class with 30k miles a few years ago and it was no where near how you described. Interior was just fine. It didn’t even need claying after a decon wash. Just shows you how vastly different people can take care of their cars.

You know, the E`s I`ve seen were generally in better shape than the S`s of the same vintage. My ML was the same year (2010) as the last S I drove and it was night and day.

Re: RANT:My Love and Hate of German cars.

Its just incredible how condition can vary. I guess those who drove the car as a lease just didn’t care. It wasn’t their property so why should they? They just turn it in at the end of the Lease and be rid of it.

Re: RANT:My Love and Hate of German cars.

Off topic or on topic....re: dye job.
I`ve had good ~condition~ leather resprayed when I`ve had upholstery done - so that it blends with the rest of the panels
IME, with a worn seat with cracked coating, (outer bolster) etc - the recoat looks great post refurbish, but over time (fairly quick), due to the already cracked/worn/micro linear wearing underneath, that seems to telegraph through the new coat.

Can anyone confirm if you have seen opposite, where you`ve had it resprayed and no telegraphing whatsover.
This may be different perception lets say on a black leather vs a lighter color, which may show the telegraphing of said cracks more, just due to the very nature of light/dark.

Due to said experience with re-dye and the telegraphing, I generally would opt for the latter and go for a recover. I know we`re talking 2 different budget points though. In my experience, I would only respray good leather...but not ones with coating cracks. YMMV

Re: RANT:My Love and Hate of German cars.

The only recoloring I ever had done wasn`t to my liking so I had a new panel put in. Eh, generally I just live with the cracking, even when it`s so bad that most any Autopian would want it rectified...just don`t care as long as the leather doesn`t actually fail, which hasn`t happened to me yet.

Re: RANT:My Love and Hate of German cars.

Good point, I can`t recall reading a story about re-dyed leather ending well. My S4 had a bolster re-dyed and it failed quickly. I re-did the job and it outlasted the dealer job but I sold the car in a period I wouldn`t call extended. TBH the work is easy and I could live with doing it every few years.

Re: RANT:My Love and Hate of German cars.

Well.... Things have taken another twist. I got low-balled on my Volt and that cooled my jets. I took some time to go over the LS and the interior was rough and I could hear Accumulator saying bad move.

And then what appeared to be the Unicorn appeared in CarMax inventory. A clean unpainted S550 with only 55k on it. It is now being transferred to my store. Very excited!